5/24/26 Sunday School - Pastor Charlie Branch - Meadows Baptist Church

All right, we'll go ahead and get

started.

Give everybody a minute to get in here.

All right. Thank you for being here

today. Appreciate each one of you. And

uh it's good to see you. And uh

this rainy weather has got us all out of

whack, but uh it's been a while since

we've seen it, but I'm sure thankful for

it, aren't you?

>> And it's good to see it. Appreciate it.

And glad to be back this morning. just a

couple of things we'll go over and then

we'll uh get into our prayer request

time

and uh

if there's more than three or four out

there go out somebody go out there and

run them in here and two of them is good

enough.

are not going to avoid me today.

All righty. I hope you had a good week

this week. Thank the Lord for his

blessings. I do appreciate Brother Wayne

uh coming this past Wednesday night and

filling in for us. And he's always such

a blessing and I appreciate him very

much. Did a great job on Wednesday. and

I appreciate you being faithful and

being in your place on Wednesday night.

Um do do uh uh remember him and his

family in prayer. He's preaching a whole

lot and thankful for that. Um but pray

the Lord will continue to give him the

open door as he goes forth preaching. Uh

but I do appreciate you uh being here on

Wednesday night and appreciate your

prayers for us in our travels. We had a

good time this week and a great time of

rest and so I appreciate that and your

prayers for us. It's a blessing. So, all

right, announcements here uh this

morning. Today is friends and family

day. So, I hope you've invited uh some

folk to come out and be with us. Already

heard good reports about that. So,

looking forward to seeing everybody

today, but do be much in prayer um for

the service today and everything that'll

go on after that. Just pray God will get

glory. I tell you what, we need more

than anything, more than them bouncy

houses, more than the food, we need to

see somebody get saved today. And uh

that's burden the Lord put on my heart

um this this past week and really would

love to see somebody get saved today. So

remember that uh if you would please

pray that God will just have his way and

we'll have the singing this afternoon

and then the service will be outside um

weather permitting at 4:30 and brother

Anderson will be here preaching this

afternoon. So remember that as he comes

in. He's preaching in Reedsville this

morning and then he'll be in uh this

afternoon to be with us tonight. So pray

for him. Uh Safe Travels and By Grace

will be here with us singing. So pray

for them as they come in this afternoon

as well. Remember that. And then I will

make mention of this. We were going to

have Youth Sunday on next Sunday. Um but

just due to certain things, we're going

to postpone that for the time being.

When I get that uh worked out, let you

I'll let you know when we're going to do

that. Um but we're going to move that

back for the time being. And so um with

that being said, uh youth Sunday is

postponed, but we are going to be having

our men's and ladies fellowships there

that week. Uh so remember that the 1st

and the fourth and then um the the uh

multiplicity of camps that we're

involved in is going to be starting off

um there the week of the eth junior camp

there at Gospelite. And so don't forget

about that. if you signed your uh kids

up to go to junior camp. Um that'll be

the 8th through uh the 11th there of

June. And then Bible school will be

kicking off on the 14th. All right. And

we're going to try to have visitation uh

up coming up to these these days and

where the summer nights are longer. We

probably are going to do them in the

evening looking like a Thursday evening,

something like that. And so I know busy

things of that nature some be gone.

We're just going to be doing that

periodically. I'll let you know um by

way of text message uh church message

what days we're going to be doing that

and just be inviting people. All right.

Just be inviting people to our Bible

school and pray the Lord. Uh we'll bless

that and touch it as it's getting

closer. And then homecoming and Father's

Day will be on the 21st, the weekend

after that. And so we'll have a meal

that day immediately following uh the

morning service. And then there'll be no

evening service that night. Okay. Um so

remember that if you would please. All

right. You can put this in your calendar

as well. We didn't put it on the church

page, but we are going to be having red,

white, and blue Sunday. Uh on July the

5th. All right. July the 5th. We'll be

having uh our patriotic uh Huh. It is on

there. Okay. Um we're going to be having

that on that Sunday. And brother Todd

McKon will be here with us. Aby's dad.

And uh um is this is live stream already

on? It is. Well, he ain't going to see

it anyway. We're going to give him a

gift that day um the 25th. Um he's been

this was it this month? This month? 25

years he's been preaching the gospel um

this month. And we're going to give him

a gift that day. He'll be here w with us

preaching. And so we're going to put

together some things for him uh from our

family. And then if the if you want to

do something from the church, if you

want to give, we'll take up an offering

for him um that day. But uh I appreciate

his faithfulness. And you say, "Why is

that?" Well, I appreciate it because

it's his faithfulness, the reason I got

a wife. Amen. And uh I appreciate it

very much. And that's the best thing

he's done for me. Amen. But uh anyway,

we we will do that on that Sunday. And

I'm looking forward to that day. It's

going to be a good day in the Lord's

house. So remember that if you would

please. And then youth camp there in uh

Georgia. Uh brother Straoud's camp uh

teen camp power of two will be the 6th

through uh the 9th there will come back

on that Friday the 10th. So be praying

about that uh as it gets closer as well.

All right. Remember these dates coming

up. I do will let you know this as well.

um our missions meeting and it's crazy

it's going to be here before we know it

but August the 30th through September

the 2nd is missions conference and

brother Gary Chris will be here with us

I've got two missionaries going to be

here with us that week um one of them um

brother Brian Stout missionary uh

they're going to Scotland um he's going

to be here with us uh that week um he

was here during the prayer Baptist uh

missions conference we had a year ago

and he'll be here with us that week

presenting his work as well as brother

Jonathan Ed um he's a missionary church

planner to South Dakota and na Nebraska

um with Macedonia World Baptist Missions

and he'll be with us here on that Monday

night and I've got one more I've got to

get in contact with for that week but

I'm looking forward to having them and

so you be praying about that as it gets

closer as well and just praying the Lord

will supply um all the needs for that as

it gets here we want to be a blessing to

And the reason why I've kind of wanted

to narrow it down to that week is I

really want to just channel all of our

energy into those few days. Um, you

know, I want you to be praying about

what the Lord would have you to give.

We'll take up a special offering um for

the missionaries and the man of God will

be brother Gary will take care of him

from the church. Um, but we are going to

take up a special offering um for those

missionaries that week. And if the Lord

leads us to take them on, we'll do that

as well. And so just be praying about

that uh as it gets closer. Okay. All

right. Uh I'll make mention of some

other stuff here a little bit later. The

cleaning schedule is out there in the

forer and so you can pick that up for

this coming month. Sign up for that um

if you would please. All right. Okay.

Prayer request this morning. Um several

here want to make mention of this

morning. Continue if you would to pray

for Chase Guford. Brother, you got an

update this morning?

Okay.

>> That is wonderful news.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. Amen. And uh that's I don't I I

don't say this to be u insensitive, but

I've never heard anybody that had a

brain bleed to come out of it. And so

that's a miracle. And I know some others

probably have, but I've never heard

that. And so I'm thankful.

She had

>> Amen. Praise God.

>> God took care of that.

>> Yeah. That's good. He's able to, ain't

he? Amen. And I appreciate that. Do

continue to pray for them. Pray for

Chase and I pray for his soul. Amen.

Pray for that. God will help him and the

family there there with him as well. Uh

let's continue. Remember um Miss Janet.

Did anybody hear from Miss Janet this

week? I didn't get to hear from her. It

was put out on the church message that

she's doing. She did well come through

it all for what I've seen her group text

and so let's pray continue to pray um

for her if you would please and remember

them in prayer. I got several other here

but I think we'll just let y'all give us

an update on these. So has anybody got a

special request to prayer this morning

an update? Yes ma'am.

>> Oh no. Is he Is he home?

Let's remember brother Mike in prayer

and uh bathe him in prayer.

>> Amen.

>> And uh

been burdened for him this week. Let's

please pray for him. And Miss Carolyn,

brother Mike had a fall this week. Um

you said you said he fell on his back.

Fell on his backwards.

All right. Let's Let's please please

pray for them.

He had a doctor's appointment coming up

pretty soon, too, to get checked out

again. What he told me last time I spoke

with him, I thought, but he don't.

Let's remember them in prayer and pray

God will touch them. Someone else got a

request this morning.

>> Amen.

Let's continue to remember Miss Haley in

prayer.

>> Someone else.

>> Yes.

>> Amen.

>> Someone else.

Let's remember that.

Let's do remember that this morning.

Someone else. Yes, ma'am.

Let's remember that. That be at Baptist.

>> Okay.

>> All right. Let's remember that this

morning.

someone else.

Yes, ma'am.

>> Yes. Yes. We need to do that this

morning. I was thinking tonight um the

tabernacle children's home. We we uh

mentioned it on uh ne last week about

taking up an offering for them and I

think we had right around $2,500 that

was taken up last week. That's not that

ain't got nothing to do with what the

church said we was going to put on. That

was what was given. And so there were

several people that asked me um if they

could give today. And so if you want to

give to that, make sure you give that to

Miss Stacy today and let her know what

that's for. And we're going to send the

offering as well as an amount out of the

church mission fund to them. And uh if

you have questions about that, you can

see me or Miss Stacy about that and

we'll just let you know what it is. But

pretty sure everybody knows what we was

did talking about when we mentioned that

they're going into a building project is

what they're doing. And so they have to

mandatory by code uh code change

violations, things of that nature. So um

if you want to give to that, just make

sure you get that to her today. And I'll

let me let's do it this way because I

think if we do it this way, it might be

better. After this morning's service,

immediately following the morning

service, we'll we'll have an offering

plate up here at the front and I'll have

one of the men standing by it. If you've

got something you want to give to it,

just bring it and put it in that

offering plate and we'll make sure that

it gets to that. Okay? And so remember

that this morning and we're going to get

that sent out this week. Um if everybody

gets that turned in. All right. So, all

right. Thank you for reminding me of

that. Amen.

>> Um my wife had a blood clock. He didn't

have

>> Yeah.

>> But you know what? I still think about

>> how God been in my family and brother

had stage four canc

still checking good

hear somebody in stage four and all of a

sudden Amen.

>> Amen.

>> And my wife they about gave her up at

Turnerville time they got her to full

sight. Full sight was waiting on when

she got there man they couldn't believe

what a change she had from there to

there. See, I know.

>> The phone started ringing. People

started calling and praying. And I'm

telling you, that's what it is.

>> You're right.

>> My God to do anything,

>> but I I just thank God.

>> And I know this Paul time, but anytime

to thank God when you think I'm behind,

Brother Charlie. I should have been

thank God. Why does it take something

>> to remind me of what God has done? He's

done so much for my family. And I just

thank God. Hey, I thank him and I thank

you for reminding me how blessed I am

when even I don't think I am and I just

love him this morning. I love

>> He is good. Yes, ma'am.

>> Amen.

>> Yeah.

Amen.

>> Amen.

>> It's wonderful.

>> Yeah. Yeah. That's wonderful.

>> Amen.

>> Right.

>> Yeah.

>> That's right.

Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Right.

>> I believe that.

>> God is good. Right.

>> He just touched

>> her.

>> He is able.

He is most certainly able. That blessed

my heart last Sunday, too. That blessed

me. I've thought about that all week.

And

man, I'm thankful.

>> Amen.

>> There's nothing too hard for him. Amen.

Amen. Not a fame too hard for him. Amen.

Is anything else this morning before we

pray?

>> Yes.

>> Amen. We do. Amen. Love you all.

Appreciate you. Amen. I love all of you.

Amen. Appreciate you. Let's continue.

Remember Mac in prayer. pray for him and

uh pray God be with them and let's

continue to remember Miss Anne and their

family as well. Pray God be with them

these days and let's remember brother

Eric and sister Donan continue to pray

for them. God will give them strength.

And uh I tell you this, you know, um we

we ought to always thank God for what he

does for us. We ought to always praise

him. We ought to always worship him.

I'll tell you this. You ought to realize

where you're at in your life. You've got

the opportunity. God convicted me about

this this week. Lord's blessed me and uh

our family, two healthy babies, and and

my wife, we have a good marriage. Lord's

blessed us.

>> And uh God convicted me this week and

said, you know, I've given you the

opportunity to pray for the people that

don't have and are not enjoying what you

are right now.

>> And we ought to give him thanks. We

ought to. And I'm not telling you that

you shouldn't give him thanks. But there

is people that are hurting.

>> Amen.

>> And if you're not hurting, you ought to

be ringing the bells of heaven for those

that are. Amen. And let's pray. Pray for

these families. It's lost loved ones and

pray that God would be with them and

strengthen them during these days and

give them what they stand in need of.

Amen. And so, let's remember that. Any

Is there anything else before we pray?

Amen. Let's pray for those that'll be

here lost today. Amen. And I'm

anticipating a a good crowd today and

thankful for that and thankful for all

the people that's told me they've

reached out and invited folk and you

know we don't have to. We do special

days so they'll come but you ought to

invite them constantly. Amen. And don't

quit doing that and um and keep inviting

them. Keep praying for them and praying

that God will deal with their heart.

Amen. All right. Is there any other

requests before we pray?

Let's continue. remember Miss Maryl as

well. Pray for her. And good to see you

this morning, Brother Todd. Appreciate

you very much. And uh I love each one of

you. Let's come pray and ask the Lord to

help us this morning. Be with us.

>> Amen.

Goodbye.

Father, thank you for this day, for your

grace and your mercy towards us, for

your kindness. Lord, you've been so good

to us. God, I thank you today, Father,

Lord, for this church. Father, for the

sweet spirit, God, for the thankful

hearts this morning, God, I want to say

thank you for saving my soul from hell

this morning. God, I know that's what I

deserve where I should be, but God,

you've been so good, and I bless your

name for it today. God, I thank you for

allowing me the privilege, Lord, to be

the pastor of this church. God, I don't

take it lightly. Lord, you've done so

much for us, Lord. your presence, God,

seemingly, Lord, every service, Lord, is

has moved and worked in hearts. And I

just I just praise you for that. And

God, I ask you humbly that you would

help us this morning. I pray you'll

bless everything that will be said and

done. That you'll get glory and honor

unto yourself. Lord, I pray, Father,

that you'll give us strength, Lord, to

obey the word this morning, to be

hearers, Lord. But not just to be

hearers, but to be doers. God, I ask

you, Father, you'll cleanse us of sin

and of self. Draw us near unto you, God.

I ask you, Father, today for the many

requests of prayer, God, I pray your

will would be done in every heart and

life. God, I ask you humbly this

morning, God, that you would be exalted

in every situation. God, we know you're

able to do exceedingly abundantly above

all that we ask or think according to

the power that workketh in us. And God,

I just pray, Father, that you would

magnify your son today and edify the

church, Lord, and exalt yourself, God. I

pray, Father, you'd move us out of the

way, Father, and we'd see no man save

Jesus only. Lord, you have been so good

to us, God. But Lord, we say thank you

most of all for who you are. Lord, you

are wonderful, high and holy, righteous,

perfect, separate from sinners. Lord, we

love you. And thank you today for being

sovereign, Lord. You're in control,

Lord, in every part of life. And Lord,

we know today, Father, we can trust you,

God. There's nothing, Lord, that's

outside of your reach, Lord, or out of

your hand, God, today. And Lord, I thank

you, Father, that you're able today to

do exceedingly abundantly above all that

we ask or think. God, I pray you'd do

it, Lord, today. Save the sinners that

are nearest hell today and do a mighty

work, God. We ask it, Lord. We pray,

Father, Lord, for every heart that'll be

here. I pray, God, that we'll be

challenged and changed by the word of

God. I pray you'll bless the singing,

bless the offering, Lord, this special

offering we're taking up, Lord, for the

children's home, God. We pray that you

would take that and bless it, multiply

it, God, and use it, Father, for your

glory and honor, God, as it'll go to the

building, Lord, of that home. And Lord,

for those children, God, I pray that

you'll bless them. And Lord, we ask you,

God, for those that have procedures

coming up, that you would be with them.

And Lord, for the many other needs. We

pray for Brother Mike and sister

Carolyn, God, you would please be with

them today. God, we pray, Father Lord,

that you'd help him find some answers,

God, about his condition. We pray for

these others, Lord. Many not able to be

here today. Lord, because of ailments of

the mind and ailments of the body. And

Lord, these bodies, their lives are so

frail. Lord, you said, "What is your

life that's even a vapor that appearth

for a little time then vanishth away?"

God, I pray you'd help us to remember,

Lord, how frail we are to make good use

of the time that you've given us, Lord,

this day. Lord, that we might worship

you, God, because we don't know, Father,

if it'll be our last opportunity. God, I

pray you'll help us to give our all

today. We'll thank you for what you do

cause. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

>> Amen.

Where?

All right, take God's word. If you would

please turn with me to the book of

Matthew. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 26.

Matthew's Gospel 20, chapter number 26.

And uh we're going to look here at some

verses today. I I dealt last week in

Sunday school with the transfiguration.

Now, and Lord lines all this up. He puts

us exactly where he wants us to be. But

I want to deal with another event in the

life of Christ in Sunday school this

morning. And uh correlation being those

who are present um at this event here in

chapter 26. And we'll be preaching out

of this chapter in the worship service.

And so this is going to kind of lead us

up again uh into the message. and I've

enjoyed doing this. I hope it's been a

help and kind of give you a little more

background on what's going on in the

text um before we get to the message.

Now, Matthew 26 is a powerp packed

chapter. There's a lot that transpires

in this chapter when you look at it um

in its uh I guess you would say the

value of it vocabulary

wise. Um, this is the longest chapter in

the New Testament by number of words.

The longest chapter by verses is Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. And so, Matthew 26 covers a

lot of ground. It covers a lot of ground

uh in the life of Christ. Covers several

days. And we're going to deal um with a

portion of it out of this text. I I wish

that I had time to elaborate the whole

thing, but I'm just going to give you

some highlights here and then we will

deal with the thought here out of the

text. Now, I preached this before at the

church, but some of you may have not

been here uh when I preach this. And so,

I'm not going to give you the outline

that I preach, but I am going to deal

with the subject. So, let's look at the

text. Matthew chapter number 26. And

I'll do my best to hurry this morning.

Matthew 26. Let's begin reading in verse

number 36. Uh, then cometh Jesus with

them unto a place called Gethsemane, and

saith unto the disciples, sit you here

while I go and pray yonder. And he took

with him Peter the and the two sons of

Zebedeem began to be very began to be

sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he

unto them, "My soul is exceeding

sorrowful even unto death, tear ye here

and watch with me." And he went a little

farther and fell on his face and prayed,

saying, Oh my father, if it be possible,

let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,

not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he

cometh unto the disciples, and findeth

them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What

could you not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray that you enter not into

temptation, the spirit indeed is

willing, but the flesh is weak. He went

away again the second time and prayed,

saying, Oh my father, if this cup may

not pass away from me, except I drink

it, thy will be done. And he came and

found them asleep again, for their eyes

were heavy. And he left them, and went

away again, and prayed the third time,

saying the same words. Then cometh he to

his disciples, and saith unto them,

Sleep on now, and take your rest.

Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son

of man is betrayed into the hands of

sinners. Rise, let us be going. Behold,

he is at hand that doth betray me. Now,

Father, I ask humbly this morning that

you would help us in this Sunday school

hour. God, I realize I have nothing to

say, God, if you do not speak through

us. And so, Lord, I ask you to give us

wisdom this morning. And uh Lord, give

us the tongue of the learn. Father, I

pray, Lord, the ignorance of our youth

may not show this morning. But God, I

pray that the wisdom of the Holy Spirit

of God would be on display uh from these

scriptures. Help us. I pray this

morning. We ask it in Jesus' name and

for his sake. Amen. This text here this

morning, of course, deals with the

garden prayer. Uh Gethsemane here is

that garden the three G's that are

mentioned leading up to the death of

Christ is Gethsemane there. That garden

that he prayed in Gabatha would be the

place where Jesus was beaten there. The

pavement it's called Pilot's hall of

judgment and then from there he would

exit Jerusalem to the hill called

Galtha. So this begins the trip of

Christ to the cross. And the Bible says

that he has come to this garden with his

disciples. There in the text, the Bible

reveals to us that Jesus has told them

what is going to transpire in verse 31

that the shepherd is going to be smitten

in the text. And he tells them that he

is going to rise again in verse number

32. And so he is assured he is he has he

is at peace with the fact that he is

going to the cross. It's his purpose.

Amen. and uh he is headed to where God

had designed for him to be from the

moment that he was found in Mary's womb

in conception. And so the Bible tells us

that Peter there, they respond to him

and we often throw Peter under the bus

for his brashness. But this gospel

account tells us uh in verse number 33

that Peter answers first. But in verse

number 35, Peter said unto him after

Jesus tells him he's going to deny him.

He says, "Though I should die with thee,

yet will I not deny thee." And then you

notice that little phrase in the end of

verse 35, "Likewise also said all the

disciples." And so we throw Peter under

the bus. He's the spokesman for the

group. Amen. But you realize the same

issue is found in all of these men. You

say, "What does that derive from?" Well,

it deres from them making a commitment

in the power of their flesh. That's what

it is. And anytime you commit to

something in your flesh, you can just be

sure of it. You're going to fall

through. Amen. It just does not happen.

And we've got to make sure we live and

walk in the power of the spirit of God.

But remember, these men are not indwelt

with the spirit of God. And so, when the

person of Jesus leaves them, they lose

all of their strength in the text. But

that's not what I want to deal with this

morning. But I want you to notice what

happens. Verse 36, Jesus comes to this

place called Gethsemane. He saith to the

disciples, sit you here while I go and

pray yonder. So there is the the eight

in this text that are given here. Judas

has done departed according to uh

chapter number 25 or chapter 26 and

verse number 25. Judas there in the text

which betrayed him answered and said,

"Master, is it I?" And Jesus said unto

him, "Thou has said according to John's

account, we know that Judas then leaves

there u the upper room." And so he has

left with the 11 disciples. So in the

text, the Bible tells us in verse 37, he

took with him Peter and the two sons of

Zebedee. Now, who are those two sons?

That's James and John. All right? So

these three men, just like on the

mountain of transfiguration, he tells

the eight, "You stay outside of the

garden. you pray as we're going to go in

and pray. So Jesus takes these three

with him. And the Bible says in verse 37

that he began to be sorrowful and very

heavy. Now I want to dispel something

right here when we get into this.

There's a lot of disagreement about this

text. What transpires? I'm going to try

to put to rest some of this this morning

if I may. But uh you need to realize

Jesus in the garden is not yet bearing

the sin weight of humanity. You say,

"How is that?" Well, the when you think

about the sacrifice of Christ and you

think about all that that entails, if

Jesus presently would have had the sin

weight of humanity on him, he would not

have been able to pray. In this text, we

find Jesus is going in the garden to do

what?

>> To pray. Jesus bears the sin weight in

that moment of separation on the cross

when he said, "My father, my father, why

hast thou forsaken me?" So the sin

weight is not present on Christ. Some

would say uh the agony that he's

experiencing is that sin weight. But I

don't don't believe that in the text

because Jesus is able to pray in this

text. And the Bible tells us here verse

38, he saith unto them, Peter, James,

and John, my soul is exceeding sorrowful

even unto death, tear ye here and watch

with me. And so it it emphasizes the

heaviness because we know that Jesus

knows all things. Amen. And so the the

the period that he is in here, of

course, he is looking to the cross, but

he knows what is to befall him. And when

I think about his sorrow in the text, I

think about his supplication. And then I

think about also this cup here that's

mentioned in verse number 39 when he

says, "Oh my father, if it be possible,

let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,

not as I will, but as thou wil." The

question comes to my mind as it as many

uh Bible students have over the years.

What does this cup represent? And so

when I think about the sorrow that Jesus

is experiencing, when I think about the

fact that he in the text is making

supplication to his father, he is even

emphasizing the struggle to his

disciples. Now you think about that.

Jesus is showing them just how heavy he

is.

>> You're right.

>> I'm thankful for what Paul said. He

said, "We have not an high priest which

cannot be touched with the feelings of

our infirmities." Wherever you're at

this morning, he's been there. Amen.

>> He's been there. Amen. And so he's been

touched by that. And and and when I

think about this text, what is it that

made Jesus so sorrowful? And what is it

that drove Jesus to pray in this text?

Now, I would be honest with you this

morning when I when I talk about this

cup, there's many different avenues that

we could go down. There's one particular

uh thing that I believe concerning this

I'm going to try to give to you in this

amount of time. But when I think about

Jesus, what if you if you in your mind

if we we can't fathom this. All right.

But I want to ask you this question.

When you think about Jesus, what do you

think in him? Did what did Jesus dread

the most when he faced Calvary?

What was the thing that

he was most fearful of?

>> Separation.

>> Preach my sermon for me. All right.

But there's no doubt in my mind that's

not all that's all of you wouldn't have

the same answer if we were to ask that

question. All right? Not not knock knock

knock knocking you, brother. That's what

I'm going to talk about in a minute. All

right? But when I think about Christ, I

think about the sin weight that he was

going to bear. Of course, it would be

grievious to him because he was perfect,

pure, and holy. I think, you know, we

think about his death as he was 100% God

and 100% man. Death it had a sting. And

Jesus took that sting. That's what Paul

said in Corinthians. He said, "The

strength of of of death is sin, and the

strength of sin is the law." He said,

"But thanks be unto God which giveth us

the victory through Christ Jesus our

Lord." So, he took the sting of death,

but I don't think it's the sting of

death. I don't think it was the strength

of sin that weighed on Jesus in this

text. But as brother Paul has already

said, I believe it was the separation

from his father. And then that brings

about another question when I look at

this text. Now, if you've heard me

preach this before, you just just listen

to it again, okay? It'll be all right.

But when I think about this cup, if this

cup is not the cup of sin, if it's not

the cup of death, the cup of that sting

of death, if it's the cup of separation,

what do we know about Christ? When

Christ was on the cross, what happened

to him? He bore the sin of all mankind.

He experienced the sting of death, the

sting of death. And what else happened

to him? He was separated from his

father. Was he

>> right?

>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken

me? So Christ experienced all of those

things on the cross. And so if we ask

that question, Jesus prays three times

in this text. Oh my father, if it be

possible, let this cup pass from me.

Verse 42, he prayed and saying, Oh my

father, if this cup may not pass away

from me, except I drink it, thy will be

done. Verse 44, he went and prayed the

third time, saying the same words. And

this is the question that I posed to you

in this. All right. Did Jesus ever pray

a prayer that God did not answer?

Did Jesus ever pray a prayer that God

did not say, "All right, I'll do it."

And let me ask you this. Would Jesus the

better question is this. Would Jesus

ever pray a prayer that would contradict

the will of God? Come on.

>> Jesus was 100% God

>> and 100% man. You cannot separate the

two. That's

>> right.

>> Jesus in this text, many people say that

he was operating in his humanity, in his

fear and dread of the cross. In his

humanity, he was wanting to get out of

the cross. But we know too many verses

to know that Jesus didn't want to get

out of the cross.

>> It was his purpose.

>> It was why he came. He came to what? to

die. It was his purpose. And so Jesus,

it tells us that he he tells John 12,

the famous account, except a corn of

wheat fall on the ground and die, it

abideth alone. But if it die, it

bringeth forth much fruit. Jesus was not

trying to get out of death. He was not

trying to get out of bearing our sin. He

was not trying to get out of even the

separation because we know on Calvary he

was separated from the father. But when

you look at this verse, all right, I

want to give you this and I don't want

you to miss this. Okay? The Bible says

in verse 39, he went a little farther

and fell on his face, saying, "Oh my

father, if it be possible, let this cup

pass from me." Now, when you think about

the wording that's used in this text,

when he says, "Let this cup pass from

me," you look up that word pass in the

Greek, and this is what it means. It

means to come and then go by. So when

Jesus prays this prayer in the text, he

is not praying that he would not drink

the cup, but he is praying that he does

not have to drink this cup eternally.

Now you say, what why would he have to

do that eternally? Well, to for Jesus to

die on the cross, his death was not so

much physical as it was a spiritual

death.

>> What do we know about Adam? Bible says

God told Adam he said in the day that

you eat of the tree he said in the day

the same day he said in the day that you

eat thereof you shall what surely die.

You say preacher but Adam didn't die

when he ate of the tree. Oh, but he did.

>> You're right.

>> You see the very moment that Adam

parttook of that forbidden fruit in the

garden, he did not die physically.

>> You're right.

>> But Adam died spiritually.

>> Adam was alive unto God. And really when

we think about the scripture, God was

living in Adam,

>> right,

>> in the garden. I'm not got time to

preach all that, but but Adam was alive

unto God. And when he parttook of the

fruit, he died spiritually unto God. And

then 900 some odd years later, he would

die physically as a result of his

spiritual death. And so it is that

spiritual life that equates eternal

life. You're right.

>> Nobody's ever going to live eternally in

the flesh.

>> You're right.

Adam when he died spiritually he lost

the privilege of living eternally and so

because of that his flesh became corrupt

and he had to die but you see Jesus the

Bible says without the shedding of blood

there's no remission so there must be a

sacrifice and so for Jesus to die and be

an eternal sacrifice what did he have to

do he had to die spiritually

>> you're right

>> and I submit to you on Calvar's cross

when Jesus was hanging there When he

said, "My God, my God, why hast thou

forsaken me?" Jesus was alive

physically. But in that moment, he died

spiritually. You say, "How is that?"

Well, the Bible says that the sky went

black.

>> The earth shook. God the father, what do

we know it as? He turned his back on his

son

>> because he could not look at him as he

bore the weight of yours and my sin.

>> So Jesus suffered that separation from

the father on the cross. That is

spiritual death. It's separation from

God. And so on the cross, he suffered

that separation from the father at the

while he was there, he hung there. And

then at the ending, just before he died

physically, what does the Bible say?

Jesus said, the last saying of the

cross, father, into thy hands I commend

my spirit. So you know what had

happened? That spiritual death had what?

It had passed,

>> right? Jesus. You say, "Preacher, how is

it that a man when he dies goes to hell

and suffers spiritual death eternally?"

Because we are already dead spiritually.

>> You're right.

>> When Jesus died, you know what happened

to him? His sacrifice was a spiritual

sacrifice. So in about 2 or three hours

time, Jesus offered an eternal sacrifice

>> for sin. And his prayer was this in the

text. Notice it. Oh my father, if it be

possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou

wilt. Now, if you've heard me preach

this, you know the driving force of the

message is this. That Jesus was willing

to be eternally separated from the

father,

>> right?

>> So that you and I could be saved.

>> So when I look at this text, you say,

"Well, what does that have to do with

this cup?" Jesus is asking that God

would allow him to live with him again.

You say, "Well, God answered that

prayer." He did. number one in his

resurrection because he got up again.

Amen.

>> But you know what? He also answered his

prayer. What he prayed in John 17. We'll

turn there and look at this in a minute.

But he also ascended. He didn't just

raise He wasn't just resurrected to live

on the earth, but he was raised to live

in glory. I want you to listen to what

Jesus said. Now, mind you, this is

before the cross. John 17.

John chapter 17. Listen to what he says.

John 17 · chapter mention

John 17 23

Jesus says in his great intercessory

prayer for the church, the disciples,

Christians of all ages, he said in verse

23, I am them, thou and me. Or verse 22,

notice this. And the glory which thou

gavest me, I have given them that they

may be one even as we are one. I in them

and thou in me, that they may be made

perfect in one, and that the world may

know that thou has sent me and hast

loved them as thou hast loved me. Now

listen to what Jesus said in verse 24.

Father, I will that they also whom thou

has given me, notice this, be with me.

What's that say? Where I am, that they

may behold my glory which thou has given

me. For thou loved me before the

foundation of the world. Oh righteous

father, the world hath not known thee,

but I have known thee. And these have

known that thou has sent me. And I have

declared unto them thy name and will

declare it that the love wherewith thou

hast loved me may be in them and I in

them. So Jesus in his prayer reveals

that his purpose of going to the cross

was that when he would die there, he

would bring eternal life to the souls of

men that would believe in him. And then

what would he do? He would ascend first.

He would be what? The first begotten of

the dead, the firstborn among many

brethren. the Bible says. And so the

first resurrection was Christ. The

second resurrection will be at the

rapture. Amen. When the church is

raptured out, the dead in Christ shall

what? Rise first. Then we which are

alive remain shall we caught up together

with him in the clouds to meet the Lord

in the air. And so shall we ever be with

the Lord. And this is made possible

because God answered Jesus prayer.

>> Amen.

>> In Matthew chapter number 26. You say,

"Well preacher, that raises a greater

question. And if Jesus already knew God

would answer his prayer, why did he pray

it?

Let me ask you, how many prayers do you

pray and get answered? And you think

God's not going to answer them? Go

ahead.

>> Amen.

>> James said it this way. He said, "If any

of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

>> He giveth all men liberty that breathe

not, and it shall be given to him." He

But then he said after that, he said,

"But let him ask in faith."

>> Right?

>> Nothing wavering. What does that mean?

When you pray, what do you do? You

believe.

>> Amen. And our belief is founded upon

what God has done. But more than that,

it's founded upon who he is. And when we

pray, believe and God will answer that

prayer. You're

>> right.

>> So Jesus prayer was answered in the

text. Notice this. And we'll be done

this morning. I know that's a quick

synopsis of that, but if you have

questions about it, feel free to ask.

Jesus invites his disciples in the text.

Verse number 41. Listen to what he says.

Watch and pray that you enter not into

temptation. The spirit indeed is willing

but the flesh is weak. Now I might

remind you of this. All right. These men

are not indwelt by the Holy Ghost of

God. And so what is he saying in this

text? He is saying all right in within

you you are you you are willing to pray

but the flesh your flesh you're robed

in. Man is what? Body, soul and spirit.

And so Jesus, his influence on them,

they were not indwelt by the spirit, but

Jesus influence on them was an influence

on their human spirit. You're

>> right.

>> Remember what Paul said in Romans? He

said, "For the spirit, big S, the Holy

Spirit, bears witness with our spirit."

That's man's spirit. That we are what?

The children of God. God consciousness

comes through the human spirit. So Jesus

says in the text, "Watch and pray that

you enter not into temptation." The

spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh

is weak. Now, what interests me about

this is that the function of this is the

same way because we want this is what we

want. All right? And this I didn't want

to veer off in this, but God is going to

let me do this. Okay.

What we want, we want the Holy Spirit to

tell us to pray.

>> You're right.

>> We want a supernatural force every day

of our life to say, "All right, you got

to get down and pray." And pretty much

put his the spirit of God's hand on the

back of our neck and push us down.

You're right.

>> That's what we want.

>> But Jesus says this.

>> Look what he says. Watch and pray. Now,

who what is Jesus? He's the word. That's

>> right.

>> The only thing we are going to have to

influence us to pray.

>> You're right. Go ahead.

>> He said, "Watch and pray that you enter

not in temptation. Your spirit,

what I put in you is willing, but what?

The flesh is weak." You know what

hinders you from prayer?

>> The flesh.

>> You're right. forgive you.

>> You don't want to.

>> Look what Jesus says in the text. Look

what happens to him. He went away again

and prayed the second time. Prayed

saying, "Oh my father, this cup may not

pass away from me except I drink it. Thy

will be done." Verse 43. And he came and

found them what? Asleep again.

What is this because of? It's because of

the weakness of their flesh. The Bible

says, "For their eyes were heavy." You

notice that Jesus doesn't speak to them

again. Verse 44, he left them and went

away again and prayed the third time

saying the same words. Now you say,

"Preacher, why is Jesus pressing them to

watch and pray because he knows what's

coming."

>> You're right.

>> And when the master is taken, when Jesus

would be taken from them, you know what

was going to happen? The influence that

they had of his life would be removed.

>> You know what? There's going to be

periods in your life where you're going

to have to pray because you know it's

the only thing you can do. You're right.

>> But you're going to have to choose to do

that.

>> You're right.

>> You're not going to want to.

>> It's not going to be something you're

like, well, you know, I I just, you

know, this this urge on the inside just

like I've got to go pray. No, you just

have to make a conscious choice.

>> It's time to pray.

>> You're right.

>> And Jesus says this in the text, verse

45, then cometh he to his disciples, and

saith unto them, sleep on, and take your

rest. Be the hour is at hand, and the

Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of

sinners. Now, what I'll be dealing with

in the worship service today is the next

several verses in this text. But I want

to take this time to point out and

remind you again, the Bible says, "We

have not high priests cannot be touched

with the feelings of our infirmities."

And so Jesus saw the sorrow of these

boys. And you remember Luke's account,

Luke 23, the Bible says when Jesus came

back to him, remember what it's the text

literally says, preached a message on

here one time says he found them

sleeping for sorrow.

Their sorrow had become so great that

they couldn't weep. They couldn't cry.

But you know what? It had become so

heavy that all they could do was sleep.

>> You're right.

>> And Jesus says this, verse 45, look what

he says. Sleep on. Now, you know what?

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you

can do is sleep.

>> Go ahead.

>> You say, "Preacher, were they being

spiritual at this time? That's all they

could do.

>> They couldn't do anything else." And you

know what Bible said in verse 46, he

tells them, "Behold, the hour is at

hand. The son of man has betrayed the

hands of sinners." Verse 46, "Rise, let

us be going. Behold, he is at hand that

doth betray me." So Jesus comes to him

and wakes them up again. Remember these

men are at the order of the Lord. And

what they were doing is they were

faithful to follow him. But you know

what? They went, they had to go to a

place in this text, you'll find in the

next chapter, they went with him as far

as they could go. And you know what?

Because of the cross, because of that

judgment, what did they do? They forsook

him.

>> Right?

>> And here's what'll happen. All right? I

know sometimes prayer,

sleep, those types of things, when we

think about the spiritual man, you need

to sleep. Amen. And this is this is

something you can learn about in health.

I I did a study on this a while back.

I'm not here to give you a health

lesson, but somebody said that the best

sleep, the best the people that have the

most mental stability and are best

spiritually are people who get between

about 6 hours to 8 hours of sleep a

night. And the reason why I brought that

up is this. These boys hadn't slept at

all. You're

>> right.

>> Where they have come to in this text,

what you look at in this chapter,

they've been in the upper room. It's

evening time. It's actually going on up

into the night. Really, I believe it's

on up in the night when they come and

get Jesus in this text. And so, they're

sleeping because their body is shutting

down. Sometimes you have to do that.

>> But here's what they missed. All right.

In that upper room, the fellowship that

they have with Christ and and really all

this comes back to the fact that they

were not yet indwelt with the Holy

Spirit. But the truth is that there were

people, there was just a a couple, amen,

that did not walk away from Christ at

the cross. There was that one man on the

cross that did believe. But you remember

Mary of Bethany, she stood there at the

cross and she believed. You're

>> right.

>> And all the disciples forsook him and

fled. Why was that? Because they were

too tired to remain faithful. If I could

say anything to a church this to the

church this morning in a day of

busyness, and this is a really loose

application, but if I could say anything

to you in a day of busyness like we're

living in today, don't get too busy to

pray.

>> You're right.

>> Because here's what'll happen.

You'll you'll find that your sleep is

taking up your prayer time.

>> Because everything else is taking up

your sleep time.

>> You're right.

need to make sure that you're balancing

your life right. I don't know why the

Lord told me to put that in there, but

I'll be honest with you. I've been

convicted this past week. I mentioned it

this morning, prayer time, convicted

about the fact that God has blessed.

He's been good in my life. And I ought

to be praying for those that don't enjoy

the same blessings that I do.

>> You're right.

>> They're not in the same stage of life.

Because here's the thing about it. When

I get to the place where you are, in a

place of brokenness and sadness and

sorrow, I'm going to want you to be

praying for me.

>> Amen.

>> And it's going to require us to have our

life balanced, right?

>> Know that's probably more I don't not

trying to give you a psychological

sermon, but truth is this morning our

prayer life suffers because we're too

busy.

>> You're right.

>> Maybe if you back off a little bit and

get a little more sleep, maybe you have

some time to pray. So, amen. I hope to

take that for what it's worth.